IUCN Status: Vulnerable
EPBC Threat Rating: Moderate
IUCN Claim: “The current major threats to the natural subpopulations of the species include: the accidental introduction of predators (introduced cats and foxes)’”
Bandicoots were reintroduced successfully into a fenced reserve which excluded foxes (Richards & Short 2003). Richards (2012) argued that the incursion of foxes into a fenced reserve led to population declines, but no data was provided. Bandicoots were last confirmed in the Nullarbor, WA and SA 14-26 years after foxes arrived (Wallach et al 202X).
Bandicoots were last confirmed in NSW and south-west WA 20-46 years before foxes arrived (Wallach et al. 202X).
There are no studies evidencing a negative association between foxes
and western barred bandicoot populations. The fate of reintroduced
animals is not a reliable proxy for the fate of populations. In
contradiction with the claim, two extirpation records pre-date the fox
arrival records.
Fairfax, Dispersal of the introduced red fox (Vulpes vulpes) across Australia. Biol. Invasions 21, 1259-1268 (2019).
Wallach et al. 2023 In Submission